RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most prevalent movement disorders; despite this, there remains an unmet need for novel therapies. The treatment of rats with harmaline modulates the rhythmicity of inferior olivary neurons, resulting in generalized tremor with a frequency of 9-12 Hz in rats, comparable to that of human ET (4-12 Hz). PURPOSE: Interestingly, cannabinoids reduce tremor, therefore we have assessed the cannabinoid nabiximols (NBX; marketed as Sativex) a complex botanical drug mixture, in the harmaline-rat model of ET. METHOD: We tested the effects of acute (single dose) and subchronic (10 days) treatment of NBX (at 5.2, 10.4 and 20.8 mg kg-1 p.o.) administered prior to harmaline and acute NBX (20.8 mg kg-1) administered post-harmaline in male SD rats. Propranolol (20 mg kg-1 i.p.) was used as a positive control. Observed Scoring (OS) was carried out prior to placement in a tremor-monitoring apparatus for the calculation of Tremor Index (TI) and Motion Power Percentage (MPP). RESULTS: Acute and subchronic NBX significantly attenuated harmaline-induced tremor at 10.4 and 20.8 mg kg-1, respectively, for each parameter (OS, TI, and MPP) when administered pre-harmaline as did propranolol (20 mg kg-1). NBX did not attenuate harmaline-induced tremor when administered post-harmaline. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest efficacy of acute and subchronic NBX to reduce tremors, based on OS, TI and MPP readouts if administered prior to harmaline. These data are the first to indicate the preclinical effects of an oral botanical cannabinoid formulation, NBX, in an animal model of ET.
RESUMEN
What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, social psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic-partner choice (mate seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds (mate retention and kin care) has been less thoroughly connected to relevant comparative and evolutionary work on other species, and in the case of kin care, these bonds have been less well researched. Examining varied sources of data from 27 societies around the world, we found that people generally view familial motives as primary in importance and mate-seeking motives as relatively low in importance. Compared with other groups, college students, single people, and men place relatively higher emphasis on mate seeking, but even those samples rated kin-care motives as more important. Furthermore, motives linked to long-term familial bonds are positively associated with psychological well-being, but mate-seeking motives are associated with anxiety and depression. We address theoretical and empirical reasons why there has been extensive research on mate seeking and why people prioritize goals related to long-term familial bonds over mating goals. Reallocating relatively greater research effort toward long-term familial relationships would likely yield many interesting new findings relevant to everyday people's highest social priorities.